Road To Hatteras (Interlude between Parts V and VI)
Forward Into The Past: "I took a Sabbatical, which turned into a Mondical
and a Tuesdical" *
by Dee Dee
Though this series is about GP2K1 first and foremost, the road to get there & back was an inseparable part of it for me. What happened that day in September could not help but be a part of GP2K1. Seemed to me like it re-affirmed the resolve to keep on surfing thru all life's storms & brought all the more meaning to
last year's Outer Banks gathering. I wanted to be sure I made it there, no matter what. As one of the Original Guidopalooza Five, SteveM, had wisely spoken at alt.surfing many times,"Just Surf". What especially stayed with me, was the time he said that in an outstanding post he'd written called 'Experiencing the 5 S's': http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=8l28ll%244u7%241%40nnrp1.deja.com&rnum=1
(thank you SteveM!)The crystal clear way he described the magnificent clouds, sky & sunset is the way I imagined the skies of the Outer Banks to be. I held the images & thoughts of his post in the back of my mind as I traveled down that often stormy Road to Hatteras. And sure enough, when I arrived at the Outer Banks...I was treated to
sunrises and sunsets like I'd never seen before (and I've seen some mighty fine ones in my day). And on the entire trek to Hatteras, I kept in mind those two small words that say so much: "Just Surf"!And surf, I did, everyday. But in truth...what really happened is that I paddled a lot, as I kept getting ever blown 1/4 mile down the shore line. Then I'd walk back up to the surf, paddle like the dickens to try to get outside where everyone else was, then sort of catch a wave & get blown down wind half a mile...then paddle out again! But I was out there everyday anyway. Had a blast trying my very best & strengthening paddling muscles, gaining stamina. Plus, I found much pleasure in just being tumbled by the surf & inhaling salt water on a windy day. I loved swapping smiles, hoots'n'hollers & handwaves with everyone, as we passed each other going out or riding in. One thing I have found to be true about all the alt.surfers I have met so far: You All Have The Best Smiles!
I came home from my first Guidopalooza with a warmed heart, filled with inspiration...and salt water still dripping from my nose. I had a beautiful time there. I loved how everyone always came back from it and posted reports right away, so you got to hear different takes on it at the same time...and it was so great the way they shared it with the rest of A.S. It was thru those writings that I got all fired up to go, myself. Equally, I loved the history of how it all started... the first few posts from which grew that first epic adventure of the Guidopalooza Five in 1999.
I wanted to write a long account, that would say thank you & encompass all I loved about it. If only I had kept it short & simple instead... 20/20 hindsight'n'all. I've now learned that posting it right away is the fun of it all. I never dreamed it was going to be so long or that I would start rambling on the way I did. In person, I don't talk a lot (because in person, I can detect better that glazed-over look in the listener's eyes that lets me know I've rambled on too long!); but in writing, I am quite the chatterbox (I'll turn over a new leaf next year and mostly write short stuff & I'd like to learn to post pictures of New England surf to share at A.S, in thanks for all the _great_ ones of yours that I always love to see. But, thanks to those who bear with me on the length of this series). It was true what Rod had said, as folks started asking _when_ I was going to get to the GP part of it: "It'll just be up to us to be sure that you don't go 5 to 6 years between vacations again...or we will suffer the consequences <g>."
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=Pine.SOL.3.93.1011023073208.5936B-100000%40mail
R2 sure got that one right! It had definitely been too long since I'd been on a road trip.Foon (and Rod, Sully, Edmund, others) I appreciate how you didn't let me off easy on this one and how much you cared about reading it. I just wish I could've written it faster. I didn't want to keep you waiting.
I've faded out in the middle of long stuff I've tried to write before, because I didn't really think it'd make a difference whether I kept writing it or not. But this time was different: I think the beauty of the GP posts is that they are a team effort & I always knew without question that I would finish it and post it all, because there is no way I would let you all down (even if I'm late). I love you all too much, to do that. I hope reading them will have been worth even an iota of the wait (for those who choose to read them).I've learned a lesson though...at this year's GP, I'm going to write a little about it each night before I go to sleep, so I'll be sure to post it right away. I love the way Ferg wrote about it: he posted a wonderful GP report right when he got home and then later, he gave the gift of a top notch road journal posted to A.S, which was such a delight to read. Foon, you were right about composing this one offline...I kinda took the
'road less traveled' & got lost along the way, for awhile there! So I'll back track a bit in the next part & tell you about how I happened to veer that far off the path and ended up wandering the 'Sidewalks of New
York', instead.[Just like with the Week In September posts, these will be sporadic ...a few posted one day, skip a few days, then a couple more show up at A.S. It's just the only way I can seem get it done. But it'll still all be posted by the time I leave on September 7th. The part of driving through NYC is heavy duty & somber, part of what took me so long was deciding whether or not to keep in that stuff. I know everyone hears enough about that in the news. Once into New Jersey, the stoke is back in it...by the time it reaches Hatteras, its in full swing. Just don't want to surprise you with the downer parts, I _truly_ understand if you feel like skipping Parts 6 thru 8 altogether & start reading again once in Part 9, when I get to Jersey. You won't miss many GP2K1 references, if you skip those 3 parts. The overall message in all this is always meant as a very positive & hopeful one, because that's the way I view life...it just won't sound like that, at first].
Trudging Along Thru Da Ascii Agin,
Dee 'Remedial Teller of Tales y Motormouth Extraordinaire' Dee!
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* a quote by the late Lee Hays of the folk group, The Weavers... I might not have the quote exactly
right, but it's very close. Together with fellow Weavers' member, Pete Seeger, Lee also penned the
song 'If I Had A Hammer':"I'd sing about the love between my brothers and my sisters, All, All...All Over This Land!"
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[And of course, tip o' the hat to the inimitable Firesign Theater for that classic phrase of theirs I borrowed for the title of this]
Posted to the alt.surfing newgroup From: corrall@attbi.com (corrall@attbi.com) Subject: Road To Hatteras: Forward Into The Past Date: 2002-08-22 19:20:31 PST
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